


Sticks and Stones

by CrabSecura



Category: Star Trek Into Darkness - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-09-05
Packaged: 2017-12-15 05:15:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/845728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrabSecura/pseuds/CrabSecura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her planet destroyed, her family lost. She thought she had nothing to fight for, until something unexpected happened; a mission to collect the fugitive John Harrison. Though, she did not expect to be strangely drawn to him, nor for him to have a fascination with her. Khan/OC. Story is in hiatus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N. I love the movie so much and I'm a major trekkie and I had this idea in my head since I watched the movie and I thought that I would share it with you! Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated c:

* * *

Sticks and Stones

Chapter 1

* * *

When that black hole encased her planet, she had felt the lives of the _billions_ end. She had felt their pain, their anguish as they died. And she will never be able to forget that. She hadn't even been able to do anything about it, she couldn't even save her parents nor her grandparents lives. It was her fault for their deaths, their blood was on her hands, because she didn't try hard enough. She had been off planet, positioned at the Star Fleet Academy on earth. Training to be a tactical officer in London, safe and sound and away of harm's way when the inevitable happened. She just couldn't protect them.

She had heard her mother's screams, felt her pain, because she was half Betazoid; she could feel others emotions as easily as her own. A gift and a curse when being half Vulcan, trying to represses emotions was more difficult and required meditation on a daily basis. Her mother had taught everything that she knows; how to fight, how to be calm in the most stressful of situations and, most of all, how to escape the eyes of the Vulcans around her. Now, all of that seemed useless without the presence of her mother.

She had not seen much of her father when growing up, sometimes she even believed that she didn't have one. But, whenever she looked in a mirror she knew that he existed for she looked like him, a Vulcan. She had the trademark eyebrows and pointed ears, however her eyes were blue and light, most unlike the Vulcan children around her. And for that tiny difference, she had to pay a price.

She didn't have any friends growing up on Vulcan, many of the children ignored her. The deemed her as different, odd, and many are afraid of the unknown. She was bullied as a child, though her mother always told her _'sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you'_ and she would smile and make everything okay. Now that could _never_ happen again.

Her mother had not been at her Graduating Ceremony, nor had any of her family. Her sister who survived the attack on Vulcan didn't turn up either. She had to watch the other cadets embrace their loved ones when just she couldn't, not because she was part Vulcan, but because they were all gone. Dead.

She had not been on the best of terms with her parents when she left Vulcan, they had been disappointed that she wasn't Vulcan enough, that she didn't want to follow the 'Vulcan way'. Though, she could tell that her mother was secretly proud that she rebelled and went against her father's wishes, even though she would never admit it. And, in the end, her mother took those feelings to her grave.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep…_

* * *

Was the degrading drone of her alarm clock, ringing in regular intervals and causing havoc on her ear drums. She flicked open her eyes, her eye lids being pried open. She placed her hand over the metal, silencing the machine with just one touch.

She stood up and changed into her Academy uniform; black top and jacket with black trousers. She had requested that her uniform be changed from a dress to trousers since it restricted her movement and she had to teach the cadets how to fight, to protect themselves. Her superiors had complied and allowed her to dress as such without much protesting because they knew it was a battle that they could not win.

However, before she could teach at the Academy, she needed to collect some documents for her superiors at Section 31. She neither knew what were inside the documents, nor what they were needed for, but she followed orders anyway.

It wasn't a long distance from her flat to the building, so she decided to walk to her destination as it was a bright day, most unusual for London, and she needed the fresh air.

* * *

She walked down the busy streets of London, narrowly avoiding racing hover-cars driving recklessly down the highway. People were crowded everywhere, some human, some not. All packed into the pavements of the streets, shoulder to shoulder with each other. This made the Vulcan uncomfortable, walking so close to strangers, being able to feel their emotions in every sensor, literally smell them. Sometimes she wished that they would repress their own emotions just so she didn't have to bother, though that was a selfish thought, so she quickly put it out of mind.

She was a couple of blocks away from her destination when, most unexpectedly, she was thrown backwards with a force that couldn't be reckoned with. Her body hit the pavements, as did many others. However, most received more damage than her.

She heard the crack before she even felt it, the bone of her arm snapping into two as she landed awkwardly on the limb. White noise filled her ears, as he head hit the stone. She could see people around her scrambling away, could see the traffic coming to a stop, but she could not hear it.

She examined the situation in her mind, internally grateful that it was only her arm that was broken and not her spine. Her mind was a haze, but she quickly got it under control as a Vulcan would do. Her senses gradually returned, and she pulled herself onto her feet, holding her limp broken arm with her other hand.

She noticed some people around her, still unconscious, though greatly hurt. She pulled some out of the rubble with her unharmed hand, getting them out of harm's way. She looked around for the source of the destruction, only then noticing that it had been her target which had gone up in flames.

She inhaled a shaky breath at the destruction before her, men and women were both screaming, some in agony, some in shock. Some in fear.

 _Fear._ An emotion that is chosen, an emotion that can be repressed. And right now, fear was not an option for her. Fear is an illusion, fight or flight. Though danger is very much real, but fear is not, fear is a choice.

She continued forward, searching for survivors, but finding less and less. As she got closer, that's when she noticed the dead bodies. Most crushed by rubble and glass, some burned to death from the explosion and died from their wounds.

"Espera, thank god you're alright…" A man came limping from behind her and grabbed onto her shoulder, steading himself. He was also in Starfleet uniform, though he looked considerably older than her. He had grey hair where brown locks used to be, wrinkles where time has aged him, but his compassion was never ending.

"Admiral Pike." She addressed him. "I appreciate your concern, but I am unharmed."

He looked up and down her, not believing a word that she had spoken from experience with the Vulcan, eyes falling upon her arm that she was clutching.

"Then what's that then?"

"…I- I am mostly unharmed, nothing vital." She answered, frowning slightly when she started to feel the pain originating from her limb. Dust covered her face, and a small gash branded her forehead, the cut reaching her hairline. The small droplets of green blood were flowing down into her eyebrow as she looked at the Admiral.

"Come on, we need to get you to a hospital." He spoke, singling her to follow him. She started walking behind Pike, looking around for any survivors with no avail. Though, she was pulled from her thoughts when another shoulder slammed into hers.

"Sorry." She spoke instinctively, acting on impulse as it was polite for a human to apologise for any act of violence, as she had observed about the culture from the years of living on the planet.

Pain shot through her arm at the force of the hit, her lips parting at the unexpected ache that followed the hit, as she looked around for the source.

For a moment her eyes met azure ones, full of anger, hate, loathing and an emotion that she couldn't identify. He was tall, considerably so. His dark, matted hair covered his eyes as he glared at her. Strands of her shoulder-length urban hair got caught in her eyes as she flinched slightly at his intense gaze, though she brushed if off as if nothing happened.

He spared a glance at her, then ran off, not looking behind and not apologising.

She thought nothing of it, as it was just seconds, and jogged to catch up with the Admiral. She was still clutching her broken limb, but did not show the pain thorough her stone-cold mask as the agony raced through her like a fire in her veins.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. Thank you for all of the kudos and comment; they always make my day! Sorry for any mistakes, but I don't have a Beta and it's really hard to find out what they were saying in the scenes. Comment, Enjoy this chapter…

Sticks and Stones

Chapter 2

* * *

After the explosion, the admiral had forced her to go and seek medical help, even though she did protest that she was fine, he managed to convince her otherwise. The doctors and nurses had repaired her arm, though they had been surprised at the swiftness of the healing of the bone, she just shrugged and went back to her duties as soon as possible.

Pike had invited her to a meeting concerning the bombing in Section 31, which meant that all the leaders of the council must meet in one place to discuss the situation. Since she was Head of Security at the academy in London, Pike had invited her along to address the situation and to see what could be done about it to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

* * *

As she entered the meeting room, she scanned around for Admiral Pike. Her eyes gazed over the distinguished Captains and other Star Fleet officers, taking in her surroundings. She waited for a moment as she flicked through the officers in the room. Her eyes finally rested upon him and she found Pike talking to a tall, dark-skinned commanding officer; Captain Frank Abbott of the USS Bradbury. Pike continued to talk to the Captain until he noticed her presence as she walked towards him. He politely dismissed Captain Abbott with a smile and a nod as the man walked over to talk to two other men in the room. She met Pike half way as he walked towards her and she did the same.

"Admiral." She greeted him and inclined her head.

"Miss. Espera, glad you could join us. I'd like you to meet my first officer." Pike replied with a smile. He turned around and waved his hand towards the two gentlemen that Captain Abbott had talked to as the Captain walked off.

"This is my first officer; Kirk. And the USS Bradbury's first officer; Mr Spock." He spoke, introducing the two me, before turning to face her. "This is chief Security Officer; Lieutenant Espera."

"Commanders." She addressed them politely, no emotion betraying her features even though she was pleased, in some sense, to meet them.

"Lieutenant." The blonde one, Kirk, replied with a flirtatious smile upon his lips. "I didn't know that there was another Vulcan that served in Star Fleet."

"Half Vulcan." She corrected. "Though I joined Star Fleet after the destruction of my planet. I just finished the academy." She explained.

"And yet you are already a Lieutenant." The other man stated, Spock, with a raise of his eyebrow. She could feel the emotions rolling from Kirk in waves, but with Spock, she could not tell if he was impressed or displeased with her swift progress and that was _unnerving_ for her.

"I'm good at what I do." She replied easily.

"Well, now that you're acquainted, let's get moving before we miss the meeting." Pike stated, crutch in hand as he limped into the meeting room.

"Let's." He nodded to her, and she walked into the room just as Admiral Marcus called everyone to order.

"Thank you for convening on such short notice." Admiral Marcus spoke. "Be seated."

As Espera sat in her seat, the screens leapt alive, the black vanishing as pictures filled the voids. Espera felt a jolt of confusion as a familiar face filled the screen. _It can't be…_ She thought, but it was. The man that she had bumped into at the time of the explosion in Section 31, was the man that was most wanted by Star Fleet.

Marcus' stone cold voice droned on in her ears, but she stared on in shock at the picture before her.

"By now, some of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet Data Archive, now it's a damp hole in the ground, 42 men and women are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet Officer who confessed to carrying out this attack, that he was being forced to do it by this man. Commander John Harrison."

 _So that was his name._ She touched the screen lightly with the tip of her index finger, zooming in on the picture to get a closer look, her feather light touches commanding the screen to see his face clearly.

"He's one of our own, and he's the man responsible for this act of savagery," She looked to her left and also noticed Kirk looking deeply at the screen, staring at something that she hadn't spotted. He brow furrowed as Marcus continued.

"For reasons unknown, John Harrison has just declared a one-man war against Starfleet, and under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You're here tonight to represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region, and in the name of those we lost, you will run this _bastard_ down. This is a manhunt, pure and simple, so let's get to work."

She was jerked from her dream-like state as Marcus' booming voice asked Kirk what he was thinking, she turned to face him, awaiting an answer.

"Why the Archive?" Kirk began, looking around for answers. "All that information is public record, if he really wanted to damage Starfleet… This could just be the beginning."

Her mind was racing as was Kirks, trying to process the information thoroughly to not make mistake and assumptions. Her thoughts agreed with what Kirk was trying to explain, and she looked closer to the screen for a solutions.

A shiver ran down her spine as her sensitive hearing detected an oncoming noise of rotors approaching the building. Confusion washed over in waves and she had a bad feeling lurking in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, as the noise came closer, realisation hit her like a ton of bricks. _John Harrison_ …

"The beginning of what, Mr Kirk?" Marcus requested, but she paid no notice to what he had to say. She put all her efforts into her hearing, concentrating only on the spin of the rotors, trying to decipher what it was. _A Jumpship._

"Sir, in the event of an attack protocol mandates that senior command gather, with their captains and first officers, at Starfleet HQ, right here in this room," Kirk stated as all of the officer looked at each other uneasily, their thoughts all coming to the same conclusion.

A gasp tore through her as light filled the room from the Jumpship lurking outside, awareness blinded her and she knew everyone had to get out. Now.

"Everyone out, now!" She screamed, though it was too late. Phaser cannon fire filled the air, and she threw herself to the ground, landing roughly on her side to avoid being hit. Pieces of broken glass flew over her and scratched the flesh of her arms, creating minute cuts stained with green blood.

She scrambled into a sitting position, hiding behind the desk, she reached for her Phaser from the holster at her hip. Pulling out the gun she began firing at the Jumpship, though it did nothing to stop the devastation around her. The officers around her began dropping like flies, one by one, though their efforts were in vain; it was not enough to save their lives.

She found that firing at the ship was useless, it had almost no effect on the ship, so she began evasive action to stop the Jumpship at any cause. Taking her chances, she ran for a side corridor. Picking up a Phaser rifle, she started firing on the Jumpship, hoping that the weapon would somehow harm it more than just a Phaser. Kirk appeared beside her after following her out, blood stained his uniform.

"I have an idea." He spoke, looking at her, then behind him. "Give me that."

She complied and gave him the rifle, not really knowing his plan of action. He attached the hose from an extinguisher to the weapon and threw it at the Jumpship before she could protest. The weapon was sucked into the rotor, the engine shredded itself to pieces along with the rifle, and she looked at Kirk with astonishment at his tactical thinking.

She turned back to look at the extinguisher, quickly ducking when it was dragged from the wall and crashed into the ship. The Jumpship began to rotate as Harrison lost control, drastically losing altitude as it began to fall towards the ground. She spared a glance at the man in the cockpit, chiselled features looking back at her. His piercing eyes staring right into her as vibrant white energy engulfed him.

She slowly stood back up onto both of her feet as his form disappeared, her eyes unmoving from his. Kirk raced off back into the meeting room, but she stood, motionless. She couldn't move even if she wanted to, something was keeping her stuck in place as Harrison's form disintegrated from sight, but it was not fear.

As his final particles vanished from sight, she let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She quickly found Kirk, but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. Pain engulfed her like a fire, as she felt sorrow like she had not felt since the day her planet was destroyed. She fell to her knees at the view of his lifeless body. _Pike…_ Not noticing the pain when her knees landed roughly against the hard concrete, she stared on in shock, as Kirk slowly fell apart before her eyes.

She placed a hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes, but she would not let them fall. Anger filled her senses, blood red anger, before it transformed to determination. She stood up and marched out of the room, resolve lingering in her steps.

_You will pay for this John Harrison…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**Sticks and Stones**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

She ran through the hanger which was taking the crew from Earth to the USS Enterprise, her pace never slowing, never stopping. She had her data PADD in one hand, the other balled into a tight fist as she sprinted down the corridors. Her breath came out in short rasps as her pace quickened, her academy uniform clinging to her figure as her strides spaced out. She dodged out of the way of the officers loading the shuttles, jumping over luggage and boxes full of important equipment and personal items.

She glanced at her padd, making sure she got the number right as she searched out for the correct shuttle. Finally, she had found it after minutes of racing around the shuttle bay, causing havoc among the officers and around the shuttles.

She took a deep breath to steady out her breathing, making her persona once again a calm and collected Vulcan. She put on her stone-cold mask and straightened out her uniform, brushing out the wrinkles in the material, trying to look presentable.

Flattening down her short hair, she stepped into the shuttle, eyes scanning for the man she was looking for.

"Captain Kirk." She addressed him, captivating his attention from a blonde officer beside who he was flirting with. "I ask you for permission on board the USS Enterprise." She requested, not allowing Kirk to ask for an explanation. "Pike was a…a dear friend of mine… and I want to see the man who _murdered_ him be brought to justice." She finished, handing over her details to him.

He took hold of her PADD, looking over her credentials, though his mind was already made up.

"Welcome aboard Lieutenant Espera…" He smiled, handing back the PADD to her. "We could use all the help that we can get."

_Everyone please take your seats, we are about the leave the Shuttle Bay._

A voice chimed over the comm and she took her seat behind Kirk and Spock, sitting gracefully next to Dr McCoy. She acknowledged him with a tip of her head, and made sure that her seat belt was secure before they took off.

"I hear you suffer from aviophobia, doctor." He turned and looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Please do not throw up on me." She finished with a well hidden smirk. He looked at her in surprise at her remark, the corners of her lips twitched at the surprise on his face. McCoy looked as if he was going to say something, his mouth bobbing open then closed, but decided to keep his lips sealed tightly shut at the Shuttle took off into the atmosphere.

* * *

They had arrived on the ship safely and she had had an actual pleasant conversation with the Doctor on the journey to the ship once he had overcome his surprise that a Vulcan can have a sense of humour and sarcasm.

Their objective sent by Admiral Marcus was to kill Harrison with the 72 ,loaded and ready to fire, torpedoes sitting patiently in engineering, waiting to be fired on the unsuspecting target. Though, she couldn't but help to feel that death was not the best way forward. And after Mr. Scott's sudden resignation and indecisiveness about the torpedoes, she couldn't but help but wonder as to why they couldn't find out what was inside the weapons. After all, what was the Admiral trying to hide?

If they were a threat to the warp core, then why did Admiral Marcus order them to fire _all_ of the torpedoes at Harrison. What would violence accomplish? what does it ever accomplish? All it does is create more death and devastation. Yes, she wanted him to pay for what he did, but not with his life. Ending his life gives him an easy way out and Espera did _not_ want to do that murderer any favours; he has to _suffer_ for the crimes he has committed. And suffer is what he shall do, one way or another.

* * *

Though she would never admit it, she was silently grateful when Kirk ordered to capture and hold Harrison as prisoner on board the Enterprise, rather than execute him in cold blood.

She always knew that the Captain would do what was right, call it blind faith, but she could feel his emotions from the beginning; the Captain was a fair man, not a murderer, and not _even_ Admiral Marcus could change that. It was built into Kirk, passed on through genetics, and because of that, it has made him the man that he is today; a man who knows when to spare a life, rather than take one.

They would have to send a landing party down to surface of the planet Qo'noS to be able to capture Harrison, though they could not be quite sure that they would be able to capture him without any resistance.

They would have to capture Harrison, but from what she's read on his file; he is a skilled fighter, and most likely knows Qo'noS better than any Starfleet officer. They would need a skilled martial artist if they want any chance of fighting Harrison, one which knows _all_ of the human pressure points; some lethal, some not, and she knew that exact person for the job.

As Kirk left his chair, Espera stepped forward. "Captain, may I ask you for your permission to accompany you on the away team. I know every form of martial art and my combat skills are above average, I also know my way around a gun and have no problem subduing Harrison without harm."

He kept his eyes on hers and she spoke, her voice steady and sure.

"Permission granted, Lieutenant. Change into civilian clothes; none of this can relate to Starfleet if we get captured, and meet us in shuttle bay."

"Aye Sir."

She paced back to her quarters, the mechanical doors opening at her command as she stalked in to her room. It was bare with no personal items; no pictures on the wall, no photos of family on the desk, just a bare, barren, empty room which just consisted of a bed, wardrobe and side cabinet.

She flicked on the light with a one word command, changing out of her uniform and into unfamiliar clothes given to her by the Captain.

Removing the her practical Starfleet uniform, she changed into black calf length boots, a fitted waist-length black top with a grey vest top underneath. She peeled off her Academy trousers and replaced them with skin tight leather trousers, to finish off the look, she placed a leather flak jacket over her torso and ruffled her hair until it was a wild mess with strands of brown pointing in different directions.

Her communicator ringed throughout the room, breaking the deadly silence with a chirp of sound. She strode up to the wall where the piece of equipment was positioned and tapped in the code to answer.

"Espera."

 _You ready, Lieutenant?_ Kirk's voice filled the void of silence as she pressed the final button to await the message.

"Yes, Captain, on my way now." She spoke as she took a final glance in the mirror, checking her appearance to make sure that she did not look like a Starfleet officer, before heading out of her quarters and to the Shuttle Bay.

_We're going to find you, John Harrison, whether you like it or not and you're going to pay for all the damage you have caused…_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N. Thank you for the Kudos and comments, I appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Sticks and Stones**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Her feet tapped against the metal floor in regular intervals, passing countless officers as she approached her destination. She nodded to the two other male security officers in acknowledgement as she stepped into the shuttle, taking her place on one seat in a row of three opposite another row of seats, just behind the three main control desks. She watched as the Captain, Commander Spock and Lieutenant Uhura sat down in seats in front of her, taking their positions in order to control the shuttle.

Their fingers tapped lightly against countless switches, controlling the shuttle with the simplest of instructions and the lightest of touches, as the ship slowly rose and exited the USS Enterprise through the metallic doors which opened before them.

* * *

The air was thick with tension and awkwardness as they entered the atmosphere of Qo'noS, unspoken questions lingered between the other Vulcan and the Linguist. Espera swallowed thickly when she could feel the human's annoyance at the male Vulcan, though Espera wouldn't dare ask why in case the withheld anger would be redirected at her.

Her lips parted and her pulse quickened as she stared at the barren desert that was once known as Qo'noS, the dusty, windswept plains came into view once again as they passed through the cloud layer, the sky darkening as ruins of a once powerful city beckoned them for a closer look. Metal stuck out from the ground, most likely once part of a structure of sorts, though now reduced to nothing more than scrap in the middle of a barren graveyard. Know Qo'noS was nothing more than just a pile of scraps covered with rust and dirt from years of being vulnerable to the inevitable hands of time.

"Captain, I am detecting a single life form in the Ketha province. Given the information provided by Mr Scott, this is most likely John Harrison," Spock informed them, bringing Espera out of her thoughts. She looked towards the ground, imagining Harrison looking up towards them with a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

She fingered the Phaser in the holster on her hip as she looked down at the surface, waiting to finally face the coward of a man who killed Admiral Pike.

"Mr Sulu, I think we found our man. Let him know we mean business," Kirk spoke the order into his comm, once which Sulu thankfully complied.

Sulu's voice was stone cold as it addressed Harrison, proud and indefinitely suitable for a captain of a Star Ship. Espera was undoubtedly impressed at the malice and calmness that dripped from his lips and etched his words, the cool prick of his voice with each syllable almost made her believe that he was Captain of the Enterprise. Almost.

"We will arrive at Harrison's location in three minutes, Captain," Spock announced, sparing a quick glimpse at the Captain.

She shifted in her seat, observing the anticipation on the faces of the two security officers opposite her with though. _Human emotions, how fascinating._

"It is unlikely that he will come willingly. I calculate the odds of him attempting to kill us at 91.6%." The Vulcan droned on, a calculation which had already formed in her head as well, but she chose to not voice it for it may reduce the Captains spirit.

"It's a good thing you don't care about dying," Uhura mumbled and everyone froze as the words left her lips. She could hear the intake of breath from the Vulcan and feel the irritation flow from Uhura in waves.

Espera swallowed thickly as the human feeling of irritation and discomfort in the air become unbearable.

"Nyota, you mistake my choice not to feel, as a reflection of my not caring," The Vulcan spoke with a thread of emotion that surprised her, she turned to look at him as Nyota sat, awaiting an explanation. "Well, I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite."

His words died in the air as the silence followed, though now it was filled with confusion and… forgiveness.

She choice to let her mind drift off as the silence ensured; only allowing herself to focus on the mission and not of the emotional baggage that followed Spock's words. Emotions were a weakness, one that she would not succumb to. Or so she thought…

She was thrown from her seat as an unexpected jolt shook the ship like a ragdoll, her palms reducing the impact of her fall as she looked up in confusion to those around her.

"What the hell was that?" Kirk barked, looking at the controls for answers.

"We are being pursued by a D4 Class Klingon vessel," Spock answered, hand flailing around the keys on his desk. His voice conveying the urgency of the situation, both making Espera and the other two male Security Officers feel agitated.

"I thought this region was abandoned?" Kirk questioned, voice strained as he narrowly avoided another hit to the ship.

"It must be a random patrol," Uhura concluded. "We've lost contact with the Enterprise. They must have hit our communications." She spoke, panic laced in her voice, but her outer persona calm and collected like a true Starfleet officer.

Espera was flung back into her seat when the shuttle dodged another hit, her back hitting the wall fiercely. With that incident, she decided to put her seatbelt on as she had an itching thought that the Captain was going to travel into the ruins of the city.

"This ship has no offensive capabilities!" Spock remarked and she cringed inside at the news. As much as the shuttle tried to evade the Klingon ship, it was useless; they just could shake them.

"They're closing fast! Bearing 2.8.5!" Uhura commented from her station. All Espera could do was watch the events unfold around her, not intervening as she was tied to her chair as was the other officers opposite her.

"There, there! We can lose them there!" Kirk exclaimed as he spotted a small gap between two large structures.

"You're suggesting we utilise the passage between the approaching structures? This ship will not fit!" Spock retorted, voice slightly higher in pitch as he exclaimed at the Captain.

"We'll fit," Kirk protested, flying full speed towards the gap.

"We will not fit!" Spock insisted. She dug her nails into the cushion of the seats next to her, awaiting the impact of the ship against the hard building.

"We'll fit, we'll fit!"

The shuttle rotated sideways, metal scraping against metal as the ship bounced between the two structures. They quickly emerged out of the other side of the building, relief filled the air as adrenalin coursed through their veins.

"Told you we'd fit," Kirk breathed, trying to regain his composure.

"I'm not sure that qualifies,"

A small smile tinged her lips at the Vulcans remark, her hands withdrawing from the course material.

"Any sign of them?" Kirk asked Uhura.

"No. Which worries me," Uhura confessed, looking at her scanners for any sign of the Klingons.

"We lost them!" Kirk smiled, victory in his voice at his ingenuity.

"Or they're jamming our scanners," Espera piped up from the back, making Kirk turn to look in her direction, smile slowly receding from his lips at the news. The Captain opened his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance, the shuttle was surrounded by three D4 Class Klingon ships as light filled the cockpit.

"Sorry, Captain." She spoke as the relief in the air was soon replaced with dread, Kirk smiled grudgingly, accepting her apology without much thought.

Noise suddenly blared through the comm's, one which consisted of the Klingon native tongue. Harsh words and snarls filled the stale silence as Uhura translated the barks of noise.

"They're ordering us to land. Captain, they're going to want to know why we're here. They're going to torture us, question us and they're going to kill us..."

* * *

They weighed out their options; the ship wouldn't stand a fighting chance against the Klingon vessels, but they didn't want to go down without a fight. So, they were left without a choice.

"Then we come out shooting." Kirk proclaimed, words trying to convey hope. Uhura frowned, unclipping herself from her chair and strode over to the Captain, resolve covering her features.

"We're outnumbered, outgunned." She scored. "There's no way we'll survive if we attack first. You brought me here because I speak Klingon, then let me speak Klingon." She addressed him firmly, head held high and voice determined.

The Captain looked at her questionably before reluctantly nodding in confirmation. They proceeded to land as Uhura took her place behind the doors as they opened. Beyond them revealed a barren landscape filled with nothing but dust and metal ruins of a once strong city. The shuttle was surrounded, leaving it no way to escape and no way to protect Uhura in necessary. And, knowing the Klingons, it would most likely be.

If Uhura were to show any sign of weakness, any sign of emotion, it would mean death. Most likely resulting in war between the Federation and the Klingons, and the death of everyone on board the shuttle.

Spock spared a longing glace at Uhura before she marched forward once the ship had hit the ground, placing on a stone-cold mask to hide her nervousness and her racing heartbeat beneath her skin.

Kirk handed out phasers as they watched the brave Lieutenant conversing with the group of Klingons, ready to fire if necessary. Though they knew that they stood no chance against all of the Klingon vessels, but as kirk said, they would come out fighting until the end.

They watched the Lieutenants lips moving, forming foreign words as she spoke in the Klingon native language to a commanding Klingon officer before her. His face was unmasked, his features showing as he took off his cover, but his eyes held fury beneath his dark pupils.

Espera held her phaser directed at him as he stepped closer to Uhura.

The Klingon's hand reached up and snatched Uhura's face between his fingers, straining the fragile skin with his tight grip. Fear etched Uhura eyes as the Klingon's grip tightened, his other hand reaching into his boot to grab a pocket knife. Before he could attack, bright light and Phaser fire filled the air; a symphony of screams and gun fire breaking the silence in a matter of seconds.

That's when all hell broke loose.

* * *

**A/N. Comment c:**

**Author's Note:**

> A/N. So what do you think of her? Used a bit of a quote from After Earth since it was an awesome quote. comments would be appreciated, Kudos is you liked it c:


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